Article of manufacture



1967 P. G; STEPHAN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE Filed July 9, 1965 United States Patent 3,349,956 ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE Paul Glenn Stephan, Landenberg, Pa., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 9, 1965, Ser. No. 470,677 7 Claims. (Cl. 22097) This invention relates to a container and more particularly to a can wherein the particular can configuration permits stacking or grouping of a plurality of such cans without misalignment.

For many years the can manufacturing industry has' sought an improved design of a can for containing consummable products such as beer, soft drinks, food products, etc. The voluminous quantity of art relating to metallic and plastic can designs is an indication of the search for new and improved designs which olfer labor saving and economic advantages to the packer, retailer, and consumer. Cans in general have been manufactured from tinplate and aluminum with a cylindrical wall onto which the tops and bottoms are separately afiixed. Such a method results in a circular rim, termed a chime, around the top and bottom of the can, both of which have a greater outside diameter than the cylindrical wall itself. In packaging cans such as these, spacers are generally used between adjacent cans to hold the cans firmly in place and to prevent can misalignment which may result in the chime of one can indenting the cylindrical wall of another. Vertical stacking can be accomplished using such cans only when they are carefully aligned.

More recently there has been developed a method for manufacturing cans, particularly aluminum cans, whereby it is necessary that only one end of the can be chimed. There are economic advantages in the manufacture of such a can but the usual packaging and stacking difficulties have remained. The traditional necessity for spacers to maintain can alignment is even more apparent since aluminum is a soft metal and the can wall is easily indented by chime contact. Furthermore, the absence of a bottom row of chimes increases both the vertical and horizontal alignment problems. With these problems in mind the advantage of a can configuration which permits easy vertical alignment and easy side-by-side grouping for packaging, wherein the cans can be firmly secured in place and chime/wall contact is effectively avoided without the necessity for spacers can readily beappreciated.

Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a can having a substantially cylindrical surface and a radially outwardly projecting chime at one end and an inwardly recessed portion at the other end. The inwardly recessed portion is of such a shape that when two similar cans are positioned side-by-side, with one inverted relative to the other, the inwardly recessed portion of one can accommodates the chime of the other can such that a portion of the cylindrical surface of one can is in contact with a portion of the cylindrical surface of the other can. This particular can configuration permits easy side-by-side grouping of cans, as set forth in a copending application. Furthermore, when the end containing the chime also has a depressed portion it is possible to vertically stack similar cans such that horizontal motion of one can with respect to the other is substantially avoided.

The present invention and the advantages thereof will become apparent from the following description and the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of two cans showing the construction of both can ends.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail view of the chime/ inwardly recessed end portion of two adjacent cans.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail view of an embodiment of the inwardly recessed end of a can.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail view of still another embodiment of an inwardly recessed end of a can.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary section of two cans in a vertical arrangement.

The shape of the can of this invention is shown in FIGURE 1. The can has a cylindrical surface 11 and a radially outwardly projecting chime 12 at one end. The other end of the can has a inwardly recessed portion 13. As shown in FIGURE 2 cans 14 and 15 having the above configuration can be inverted relative to each other such that the inwardly recessed portion 16 at the end of one can 14 accommodates'the chime 17 of the other can 15. With this can configuration a portion of the cylindrical surface of one can contacts a portion of the cylindrical surface of the other can as shown by the line 18. The particular inwardly recessed portion 16 in FIGURE 2 is described as having a surface that is in substantial inverted conformity with chime 17 such that chime 17 effectively nests in the recessed portion.

FIGURE 3 shows an enlarged detail view of another embodiment 19 of the inwardly recessed portion wherein the surface of the inwardly recessed portion is described as being bevelled.

Similarly, FIGURE 4 shows a further embodiment of the inwardly recessed portion 20 wherein the surface is described as being rounded.

FIGURE 5 shows a further advantage that the can of this invention can possess. This figure shows a typical vertical stack arrangement of cans. This particular feature is present when the end of the can containing the chime has a depressed portion, and the recessed end of a similar can is of a configuration such that it can be placed in the depressed portion. In this manner horizontal motion of ,one can with respect to another can be substantially avoided. The can 9 in FIGURE 1 shows a depression 21 in the end containing the chime. When the can 10 in FIGURE 1 is stacked on top of the can 9 in the manner indicated by the arrow 22 the vertical stack arrangement in FIGURE 5 results.

The can of this invention can be made of any readily formable material of construction such as aluminum, copper, magnesium, steel, etc. and additionally plastic materials such as nylon, polyolefins, polystyrenes, etc. Aluminum is the preferred material of construction since it can be conveniently and economically formed into the desired can configuration.

A convenient method of forming aluminum into the desired can configuration is by impact extrusion followed by finishing operations. Impact extrusion is a well known metal forming method and basically comprises exerting extreme pressure on a slug of aluminum causing the metal to flow within the cup shaped cavity formed by a male and female die. The resulting aluminum cupped shaped article is then subjected to the finishing operations of doming, ironing, flaring, and trimming whereby the aluminum cup is smoothed, elongated, and formed to the final desired can shape. The can may then be filled in conventional filling machines. The final can configuration is then achieved by afiixing a chimed lid by conventional methods.

What is claimed is:

1. A can having a substantially cylindrical surface and a radially outwardly projecting chime at one end and an inwardly recessed portion at the other end, the inwardly recessed portion being of such a shape that when two similar cans are positioned side-by-side, with one inverted relative to the other, the inwardly recessed portion of one can accommodates the chime of the other can such that a portion of the cylindrical surface of one can is in contact with a portion of the cylindrical surface of the other can.

2. The can of claim 1 wherein the material of construction of the can is aluminum.

3. The can of claim 1 wherein the material of construction of the can is a plastic material.

4. The can of claim 1 wherein the inwardly recessed portion on one end has a surface that is in substantial inverted conformity with the surface of said chime on the other end.

5. The can of claim 1 wherein the inwardly recessed portion on one end has a bevelled surface.

6. The can of claim 1 wherein the inwardly recessed portion on one end has a rounded surface.

7. The can of claim 1 wherein the end containing the chime has a depressed portion and wherein the inwardly recessed portion at the other end of the can is of a configuration such that it can be placed within the said depressed portion of the chimed end of a similar can, when two similar cans are vertically stacked, such that horizontal motion of one can with respect to the other is substantially avoided.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 540,625 6/1895 Barrath 220-54 2,292,702 8/1942 Lambert 220-97 2,941,660 6/1960 Tupper 20646 3,172,557 3/1965 Koenig 220 s4 3,221,923 12/1965 Bozek 220-97 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Examiner. 

1. A CAM HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL SURFACE AND A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY PROJECTING CHIME AT ONE END AND AN INWARDLY RECESSED PORTION AT THE OTHER END, THE INWARDLY RECESSES PORTION BEING OF SUCH A SHAPE THAT WHEN TWO SIMILAR CANS ARE POSITIONED SIDE-BY-SIDE, WITH ONE INVERTED RELATIVE TO THE OTHER, THE INWARDLY RECESSED PORTION OF ONE CAN ACCOMMODATES THE CHIME OF THE OTHER CAN SUCH THAT A PORTION OF THE CYLINDRICAL SURFACE OF ONE CAN IS IN CONTACT WITH A PORTION OF THE CYLINDRICAL SURFACE OF THE OTHER CAM. 